Release date: Oct. 27, 2005

Miers' Withdrawal Unsurprising, Not Worth the Cost, Says Emory's Abramowitz

Contact: Elaine Justice, 404-727-0643, elaine.justice@emory.edu
Contact: Beverly Clark, 404-712-8780, beverly.clark@emory.edu

Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz says the White House's announcement today that Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers has withdrawn herself from consideration for the post is unsurprising given the tough criticism of her qualifications and the lack of enthusiasm for the nominee within the President's own party.

"It's clear from the past few days that Miers has not been able to win over any new supporters," Abramowitz says. "The Bush Administration has plenty of other issues going on right now that they don't have the political capital to expend on this. With Iraq, possible indictments of top officials and continuing Katrina fallout, the Miers nomination was not worth the fight. The question now is who they will come up with to replace her."

Abramowitz, an expert on national politics and elections, can be reached at 404-727-0108 (w) or alan.abramowitz@emory.edu.

Also available for comment:

Richard Freer, dean of the faculty and Robert Howell Hall Professor Civil Procedure at Emory Law School. 404-727-6838, rfreer@law.emory.edu

Charles Shanor, professor of law and constitutional law expert at Emory Law School. 404-727-6811, cshanor@law.emory.edu

Robert Schapiro, professor of law and constitutional law expert at Emory Law School and former clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens. 404-727-1103 or rschapir@law.emory.edu

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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